TUSTIN – A high school principal issued an apology to its nearby rivals after a Foothill High student held up a sign with a derogatory slur during a contentious boys basketball game.
Cheers and jeers ran loud during the highly anticipated game between Foothill and Tustin on Wednesday night, with both sides of the gym filled with students. But the sign sent several students into social media crying foul.
“I am truly embarrassed and sorry that this happened at an otherwise positive event for the community,” Foothill principal Nick Stephany said Friday in a note posted on Tustin High’s website and social media. “The actions by this student do not reflect the values or standards of Foothill High School.”
A student on on the Foothill High side of the gym held up a sign with an offensive Spanish slur on it.
“Something like this, it’s just unbelievable,” said Mark Eliot, spokesman for the Tustin Unified School District. “We don’t tolerate that.”
Two Foothill High students have been identified as being responsible for the sign, Eliot said. After being contacted by school officials, he said both were “remorseful” and discipline would be carried out. District officials, however, will not comment on what type of punishment the students will be facing.
The incident seemed to have gone unnoticed by staff during the Tustin victory, 43-42, but discussion online flared once more Friday morning after the OC Weekly published a photo of the sign and some of the Twitter exchanges between students.
After the article was published Stephany sent a letter to Tustin High apologizing for the incident.
“I extend my deepest apologies to the Tustin High School community and pledge that this will never be tolerated,” he wrote.
In another letter to his own students and their parents, Stephany said he was disappointed the sign was not spotted earlier.
“Not only did the staff miss this, but the students did as well,” he said. “We all have a responsibility to police ourselves and to hold ourselves to high standards.”
Christine Matos, principal of Tustin High School, said the rivalry between the schools is usually positive, but the two schools would continue to work together to address the issue.
“This wasn’t the highlight of the game,” she said.
Eliot said the student involved has been identified by school officials.
“It’s not something we tolerate in any school in our district and they’ll be dealt with,” he said.
Stephany also encouraged students to stop talking about the incident online, and issued a warning, saying “students that tweet or post offensive comments or pictures will have school based disciplinary consequences accordingly.”
Eliot said the district would not comment on what type of discipline is undertaken for students.
School officials have decided to no longer allow posters at future games, and there will outreach between the two schools.
“Unfortunately, it was just a student who had bad judgment,” Eliot said.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7949 or shernandez@ocregister.com
